


If You Don't Mind

by MaddieandChimney



Series: Just Friends [1]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: F/M, tw: mentions of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:53:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24839482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddieandChimney/pseuds/MaddieandChimney
Summary: Maddie and Chimney are only friends but when Buck tells her that Chimney was a little quiet at work that day, she can't help but run over to his apartment to check on him.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han
Series: Just Friends [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1796779
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7
Collections: Madney One-Shots





	If You Don't Mind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mamalovesherbagels](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamalovesherbagels/gifts).



Maddie has barely known Chimney for any time at all, not really, but she still feels as though she has known him for a lifetime. They sit and they talk for hours, about everything and nothing at the same time and it’s the first time in her life she’s ever experienced something so natural, with not an ounce of force behind it.

It’s that feeling – of feeling as though she has known him forever – that drives her to his front door, nervously chewing on her bottom lip before she knocks. She immediately feels guilty, worried she’s going to be the driving force that gets him up from whatever comfortable position he has found himself in. For a moment, she wonders if she should turn around, hopeful that her knock was quiet enough to not disturb him but then she hears the familiar sound of a lock turning and she takes a deep breath.

“Maddie?”

“H-hey, Buck told me you were a bit quiet at work after… you lost a patient? H-he said you took it pretty hard, and I know what today is, so…” She can’t finish her sentence before his arms are around her, pulling her gently into his apartment before she reciprocates, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist the moment the door is closed behind them.

“You didn’t have to come.” She hates how his voice is filled with unshed tears, how he’s gripping onto her as though she’s the only thing keeping him upright then. She doesn’t mind how tightly he presses her to his body, feeling the warmth, enjoying every second of breathing him in.

“I wanted to come…”

When he pulls back, she feels empty, keeping her hands gripping onto his shirt despite the fact he’s tried to put a little space between them. “Thank you… I thought I wanted to be alone but now you’re here and that’s not what I want at all.”

They’re just friends, she keeps reminding herself, but he’s looking into her eyes as though and she thinks about kissing him for just a second. And honestly, if he didn’t look ready to burst into tears, she would have been filled with the kind of bravery that would pull her forward. Instead, she rests her head on his chest and closes her eyes, “Do you want to snuggle with a movie?”

“Y-you don’t mind?”

“I really don’t… whatever you need, Howie, you tell me and I promise I’ll try and make this day a little easier on you. You say the word…”

It’s the first time she lets go of him, to instead take his hand in her own when she pulls back just enough, eyes desperately seeking his when he finally allows the tears to fall. She can tell by his red eyes that it’s not the first time that day, and of course, the anniversary of his mothers’ death was going to hit him hard. Especially when, from what she could gather from the bits and pieces he had told her, he’s never really been able to move past it. Not when she was so cruelly stolen from him far too soon, far, far before he could ever consider being ready.

“I think I want to maybe… if you don’t mind… w-will you just lay with me for a while? In my bed, if that’s okay? You shouldn’t have to be uncomfortable to make me comfortable, I-I… we can cuddle on the couch, I just… it’s more com—”

Her pulling him towards the bedroom is what cuts him off from his rambling, his cheeks red. “I trust you, Howie.” That’s all she has to say to help him relax, not wanting her to think he would ever push her into anything she wouldn’t want to do, no matter how much pain he was feeling or how much he wanted something.

“Are you sure?” He can’t help but ask again the moment they’re in his bedroom and she kicks off her shoes, her hand still in his when she pulls him towards his unmade bed.

“Absolutely.” He’s only a little surprised at the confidence in which she climbs into his bed, a smile on her face when she eventually lets go of his hand to pat the space next to her. “I can be the big spoon if you want?” She half-jokes, watching as he lays down on his back, chuckling.

He doesn’t hesitate this time to wrap an arm around her and pull her close until she wraps a leg around his and rests her head on his chest. “Is this okay?” She whispers, a hand slipping under his top to rub gentle circles on his stomach in the way she knows soothes him.

“More than okay.” Comes the mumbled voice of her friend, tears falling down his face, eyes closed as he pulls her impossibly closer, enjoying the warmth of Maddie and the feel of her hand on his skin. And really, he couldn’t imagine a better end to what had been a notoriously difficult day to get through.


End file.
